"Average Of 25 Will Not Bring Us Success": West Indies Coach Daren Sammy Slams Poor First-Class Cricket System
Ahead of his side's three-match Test series at home against Australia, West Indies head coach Daren Sammy spoke on the team's poor first-class cricket system, saying that players averaging below 35 and being "undroppable" shows how poor the system is. WI will be kickstarting their World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle with a tough home assignment with a depleted Australia in the first Test starting from June 25 onwards. Heading into the series, WI have dropped two of their batters, Kavem Hodge (playing 11 Tests, scoring 556 runs at an average of 25.27, including a century) and Alick Athanaze (13 Tests, average of 25.08 without any century but four fifties)
On being asked about their absence during an interview on QFM Dominica, Sammy pointed out that WI are basing their selection on the basis of data and highlighted the poor health of the WI first-class cricket system.
"I had the analysts dive into the top three teams in the world and the different batting positions, what the best of the top three are doing in those different positions, the roles they are playing and then we compared them to ours and what we are doing," Sammy was quoted as saying by The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, as quoted by Wisden.
"During that last Test World Championship [cycle], Kavem I think scored 500 runs at an average of 25. As Dominicans, we want our players to perform well, but we must not get emotional," he added.
He also said that while both players have not been discarded altogether and doors are still open, he warned against glorifying averages of 25, saying that it would not bring the team success.
"If you notice, these guys just played in the 'A' team series, so they have not been discarded, just that at this moment, the direction that the team is going, the roles that we see from the data collected that is required to play, they just do not fit that role at that moment. However, it is not the end of the road for them," Sammy said.
"I think we are doing Hodge and Alick a disservice by glorifying an average of 25 in Test cricket, thinking that myself Miles [Bascombe, West Indies' director of cricket] and Jamal [Smith, senior talent manager] have some personal vendetta against any player."
"We are trying to create an environment that breeds success, breeds excellence and we need to keep on challenging, and it shows where our cricket is right now, when players averaging below 35 seem undroppable in our system and that shows how poor our system is, for us to be really talking about a 25 average, that will not bring us success," he concluded.
Among the players selected for Aussie Tests, the uncapped batter Kevlon Anderson is the only one averaging above 40 in first-class cricket, with 44.44, with other two averaging above 35, Kraigg Brathwaite (37.99), and wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach (31.38).
West Indies Test Squad for Series Against Australia: Roston Chase (Captain), Jomel Warrican (Vice Captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Mikyle Louis, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
IND vs ENG: Rishabh Pant's ‘apne chauke ke chakkar mein…' quip to Ravindra Jadeja leaves everyone laughing
India's Rishabh Pant (AP Photo/Scott Heppell) India's first Test against England at Headingley is turning into an instant classic — packed with big runs, sharp banter, and Jasprit Bumrah 's record-breaking brilliance under cloudy skies. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Day 2 saw India finish their imposing first innings at 471, anchored by Rishabh Pant 's sparkling seventh Test century. But the momentum wobbled when the visitors lost their last seven wickets for just 41 runs. England, however, responded strongly, reaching 209/3 at stumps, with Ollie Pope steadying the innings with a classy hundred and Ben Duckett chipping in with a fighting 62. While the runs kept coming, the stump mic served up a bonus treat for fans: Pant, after a dramatic diving stop to save leg byes, quipped: 'Mei bhi khel raha hu bhai! Apne chauke ke chakkar mei, mera chauka mat de dena.' Captain Shubman Gill was fired up too, pumping up Jadeja from mid-off: 'Abhi ye pura confused hai Jaddu bhai! Kaunsi seedhi hai, kaunsi udhar ayega uska!' The drama continued on Day 3 as England pushed on to 465, closing the first innings just six runs behind India despite some sloppy Indian fielding as four catches were dropped off Bumrah alone. Still, India's ace pacer turned up the heat, bagging a brilliant 5/83, his 14th Test five-for, equalling Kapil Dev's record for most five-wicket hauls by an Indian in away Tests. He also became the bowler with the most five-wicket hauls in WTC history (11). Quiz: Who's that IPL player? With the ball swinging under overcast skies, India's second innings had its own jitters. KL Rahul's classy unbeaten 47 steadied the ship before bad light ended play early, with India at 90/2, leading by 96 runs. Skipper Gill, who scored a century in his debut Test as captain, remains not out, ready to guide India into a crucial Day 4. The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy opener remains wide open with weather, swing and two aggressive batting line-ups promising more twists before this Headingley drama wraps up. Follow all the live updates, scores, and highlights from the India vs England Test match here . Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Jasprit Bumrah defends Yashasvi Jaiswal, Indian fielders despite multiple catch drops: 'Guys are new and working so hard'
While many might have expected Jasprit Bumrah to be livid with his fielders, the experienced pacer's response surprised many and underscored why he remains such a vital member of the team. read more Jasprit Bumrah has surprised the experts with his reaction to the catch drops by Indian fielders. Image: AP Jasprit Bumrah has come out in defence of Indian fielders after he suffered a horrific outing on Day 2 and 3 of the ongoing Headingley Test, dropping at least five catches as England scored 465. With the help of Indian fielders, England batters cut down the deficit to just six runs despite Bumrah taking a fifer . Three catches were dropped off Bumrah's bowling, including two from Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a horrible time at gully, and one by the veteran Ravindra Jadeja. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Bumrah defends Indian fielders Nonetheless, Bumrah defended his fielders, saying that they are not dropping catches 'intentionally.' 'I am disappointed for a second when catches are dropped. It's part and parcel of the game, and the guys are new and working so hard. I don't want to create a scene and put more pressure on them. Nobody is doing it intentionally. So they will learn from this experience," Bumrah said. Also Read | Yashasvi Jaiswal sets unwanted record for dropped catches The 31-year-old pacer added that he tries not to dwell too much on dropped catches and moves on quickly. 'Sometimes the cold makes it difficult to catch. I try not to let it affect me and move forwards quickly.' Record-breaking fifer for Bumrah While Bumrah took five wickets, the rest of the Indian bowlers had a very tough time. Prasidh Krishna leaked runs at an economy of 6.4 despite taking three wickets and Mohammed Siraj at 4.5 (he took two wickets.) Jadeja went wicketless and Shardul Thakur was only used for six overs. With his latest five-wicket hail Bumrah became the first Asian bowler to claim 150 Test wickets in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia). He also equalled R Ashwin's record for the most five-wicket hauls in the World Test Championship — both now have 11, though Bumrah reached the mark in just 36 matches compared to Ashwin's 41. Also Read | India still in control, but costly errors raise questions as England stay alive at Headingley Additionally, Bumrah became the first Indian bowler to take three five-wicket hauls in England and matched Kapil Dev's record of 12 five-fors in overseas Tests. The former captain is not expected to play at least two matches in the five-match series due to his back issues, which will come as a big blow for India. But Bumrah added that he doesn't think about the future during a match. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD During the game, he is only focused on outsmarting the batters. 'No. You don't look at what is going to happen in the future,' Bumrah said. 'You are there in the ground, in the moment. You have to do a job. At the moment, I'm trying to assess the wicket. I'm trying to assess what is happening. What are my options? How is the wicket behaving? Who is the batter here? What is he thinking? How do I outsmart him? What does the team require? 'I look at all of those things at that moment. I was not thinking about what will happen. How many games am I supposed to play at this moment? Focusing on the Test match. When the match is over, then you think about all these combinations.'
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Karun Nair comeback story: One more chance, 3006 days later
Karnataka has always produced mentally tough cricketers. It's part of the blood here,' Karun Nair's childhood coach says, the pride in his voice almost tangible. 'It's part of the culture.'Vijay Madyalkar called it Karnataka's own brand of khadoos - less abrasive than Mumbai's, but no less unyielding. Few embody it quite like Karun December 2016, Nair announced himself with a thunderclap: a 303 not out against England in Chennai, making him only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag to hit a triple century in Tests. He was just three matches into his Test career. At 25, the future looked gilded. But it never quite Three more Tests came, against Australia in 2017. And then, silence. He was picked for the 2018 tour of England, sat on the bench for four Tests, and when a vacancy opened for the final match, India flew in Hanuma Vihari—who wasn't even in the squad originally. Nair, who was, didn't get a game.3006 days later, Karun Nair walked out to bat for India in a Test match. It was at Headingley, Leeds, a long, winding road from Chennai, where he had last worn the whites for India. Dismissed for a duck, it wasn't the fairytale return many would dream of, but the fact that he was there again, on the teamsheet, in whites, was hopefully the start of a second one better than Nair knows there's a second innings—in a Test, and in is nothing new for Karun, is it?' Vijay says, before answering himself. 'Absolutely. You won't believe it—he should've debuted a year earlier. But because senior players were in the team, he had to wait. I remember one season we travelled with the Karnataka Under-25 side to Vizag, and he scored 500 runs in five matches. What he's doing now, he's done before. I reminded him about that and he said, 'Yes, sir. I was thinking the same thing.' It's amazing.'But that kind of patience can bruise a career. And it did. Karun drifted out of the Indian side without explanation, without in 2022, the silence became louder. He was dropped from Karnataka's Ranji side, a team he had once captained. Opportunities dried up. The Indian Premier League (IPL) door closed.A SIMPLE PLAN: KEEP BATTINGOne day, he showed up at Vijay's cricket academy on the outskirts of Bengaluru, two hours away in choked traffic. He had no matches to play, no team to represent. Just a stubborn flicker of belief.'This was in 2022,' his coach recalls. 'He wasn't part of the state team. He was very upset and had no cricket to play. One day, he came to the just said, 'Sir, I don't know why, but I want to do something.''Vijay Madyalkar didn't offer platitudes. Just a plan.'I told him, 'You're a batsman. Let's just focus on batting. You don't have to worry about anything. Your mindset is brilliant. Your fitness is excellent. You've already scored a triple hundred in a Test—what can I teach you?' So we decided to refine his skills and keep hitting followed was five months of quiet obsession.'We kept it simple—basic cricket. Cover drives, cut shots, same skills repeated. You won't believe it—he used to play 600 balls every alternate day. We literally counted them. He never took a single ball lightly. Even if he missed one, he'd feel bad. His focus was extraordinary. There was zero negativity, zero excuses.'ONE MORE CHANCEThe same year, Karun posted a tweet that would gain momentum later: 'Dear cricket, give me one more chance.' At the time, it barely made a ripple. But in 2024, when he began dominating the domestic circuit again, the tweet went made no fuss. He simply embraced whatever came his way—matches in the Karnataka Premier League, domestic games under grey English skies, grinding spells for Vidarbha on dry, cracked dust bowls back being sidelined by Karnataka, he shifted base to Vidarbha with quiet determination. In 2023 and 2024, he took his game to England—first with a local club, then with Northamptonshire in the County Championship. There too, he dug deep: 249 runs in three matches in 2023, followed by 487 in seven the next year, including a stoic double the 2024–25 season, Karun was relentless. He topped the Vijay Hazare Trophy charts with 779 runs at an astonishing average of 389.50. He was Vidarbha's leading scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. And in the Ranji Trophy, he finished as the fourth-highest run-getter in the country, his four centuries instrumental in Vidarbha's title-winning through it all, he kept expanding his range, his hunger, his belief. Karun Nair had a stellar domestic season (PTI Photo) 'He was focused purely on skill enhancement. He even developed a new stroke—a reverse-sweep six—which he executed beautifully during the KPL (Karnataka Premier League). We never spoke about the future or his past setbacks. He never showed frustration or disappointment. His only goal was to prepare.'advertisementThat was the mantra through his years in exile: no talk of the future, no dwelling on the past. Just the next ball, and the one after India finally came calling again, the coach barely needed to say a word.'Not much,' he says of their conversation. 'He's a quiet guy. We understand each other without having to say much. I followed his Ranji Trophy games and messaged him a few times, but that's all.'Still, the satisfaction was immense.'For any coach, this is the moment we wait for—this is our reward. Everything else in life comes and goes, but these are the moments we want to experience. It's a very satisfying feeling.''If I could give Karun one message for the rest of his career,' the coach says, 'it would be: keep scoring runs and make sure that whenever you play for India, you help the team win. That's the only thing that matters.'Now, at 33, with the silence broken and the scoreboard ticking again, Karun Nair has the chance he asked for.
